My Family
by Anneliza
Summary: Francis has been out of town for a month and is eager to return to his family but when he returns everything is not as he expects.
1. Chapter 1

"Oh petit Noel, has a cold?" Francis cooed into the phone pressed tightly against his ear. "Well tell her that Papa says to feel better soon and that he will be bringing her something to cheer her up, d'accord mon cher?"  
There was a small sigh on the other end of the phone.  
"She really misses you, Francis," Arthur replied quietly.  
"Je sais. Je sais. I miss her too. Both of you. I did not want to be gone this long and you know I would not have left if I could have stayed. But my business trip ends tomorrow afternoon so I will be home around her bedtime."  
"Yes, I know that. It's just been very quiet here and she's been getting very restless."  
"Well I cannot wait to come home and see you both again. D'accord?"  
"Alright, Francis. Good night. I love you."  
The man smiled at the other's warm tone.  
"Bon nuit, mon amour. Je t'aime aussi."  
Arthur hung up the phone and turned to see his two year old daughter stumble into the room, rubbing her runny nose.  
"Noel, what are you doing down here? You are supposed to be in bed. You won't get better like this."  
She came over and held up her arms; Arthur quickly picking her up and placing her on his lap.  
"Papa back?"  
Smiling sadly, he rubbed her back.  
"Not yet, pet." Her face fell and he said, "But he'll be home tomorrow. And he'll tuck you into bed like usual and sing you a lullaby and give you a good night kiss."  
She smiled brightly at his words.  
"Papa back tomorrow?"  
Arthur nodded.  
"Yes, pet. He just called and told me that." He stood up and and wrapped her small arms around his neck. "He also wants you to get better so back to bed with you." Carrying her into her little room, he tucked her in her bed, making sure the railing on the side was secure, and sat on the edge. "Do you need a story to help you sleep?" She nodded eagerly. "Alright. But just one." A book was pulled off the bookshelf next to the bed at random and opened to the middle. "Once upon a time there was a princess named Rapunzel..."

* * *

'He's late,' Arthur thought as he stared at the clock, jiggling his foot impatiently.  
"Where Papa?" Noel asked, tugging on his pant leg. "Mama, where Papa? Said today!"  
He sighed.  
"I know, pet. He must be in traffic." He scooped her up. "Why don't we go take a bath and get ready for bed? Papa's gonna be tired and this way he can spend more time with you."  
Noel nodded and let him carry her upstairs where she was given a long bath and tucked into her pajamas.  
"No Papa."  
Arthur looked at her and nodded.  
"Yes, pet..." He glanced at the clock and saw that it was already an hour past her bedtime. "You should go to sleep. I'll wake you up when he gets here, okay?"  
"Not sleepy!" she said with a big yawn.  
He chuckled and pat her head.  
"That yawn didn't agree with you."  
Pouting, she crossed her arms and looked away.  
"No! Papa!"  
Arthur laid down and pulled her to his chest.  
"Sleep now, Noel. It's past your bedtime. As soon as Papa gets home, I will wake you."  
"Fine."  
She closed her eyes and almost instantly fell asleep.  
Arthur smiled and watched her sleep, hoping Francis would be there soon. He was quite tired as well and wouldn't last much longer.  
Rather quickly he drifted off as well and didn't notice the door open or the soft footsteps making their way towards the bed.

* * *

AN: A new story I thought of about a month ago and forgot about. I found it again and was like 'Why didn't I post this...?'

Well now it's posted! What's going to happen next?


	2. Chapter 2

Francis was very angry. His boss was keeping him four whole hours later than he had said. He didn't want to be in Angola, trying to improve diplomatic relations; he wanted to be at home with his husband and his little girl.

Inwardly crying for joy as the meeting was finally dismissed, he shook hands with the others as fast as possible and nearly ran out of the room.

He pulled his phone from his pocket to call Arthur and let him know he would be later than expected to find the device dead.

"Merde," he cursed. "I should have remembered to charge it last night. I hope he will not be too mad at moi. It is not my fault after all."

It was nearly three in the morning when he opened the front door of his and Arthur's quiet home. He slipped his jacket off and hung it on a hook next to the door before tiptoeing his way up the stairs and over to the nursery to check on his daughter.

When he didn't spot her, he shrugged and went across the hall to the bedroom he shared with his husband thinking that the two were in there together.

Silently he made his way into the room and over to the large bed. "Arthur?" he whispered. "Arthur, I am home, cher." Nothing stirred on the bed so he sat on the edge and reached for his husband. Empty sheets met his hand. "Arthur?" He felt around but didn't find another person.

Taking a breath, he slid off the bed and went over to flip on the light switch.

No one was in the bed.

"Maybe they were reading and did not make it to bed," he thought.

He stepped down the hall to the library his beloved spent a great deal of time in.

"Arthur? Mon cher? Are you in here?"

Silence.

The light was turned on but this room was empty too.

Panic started to rise in his chest but he pushed it down saying, "Maybe he had to go somewhere. He probably left a note in the kitchen."

Dashing to the cuisine, he looked around.

No note on the table.

No note on the counter.

No note on the fridge.

"ARTHUR!" he yelled, running through the house. "NOEL!"

He checked every room, every nook and cranny, but not a hair was found of either.

* * *

AN: Oh no! Where did Arthur and Noel go? And who was in the room with them? Are they even still alive?

Find out in the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

"Mmm..." Arthur stirred and yawned. He sat up slowly and stretched. "Francis...?" Looking around sleepily, he frowned when he didn't see his partner. "He promised..."

Yawning again he went to lay back down when he noticed something was off. "This isn't my room..." He looked around again. "Where am I?" As he started to get out of the bed a small blond head next to him caught his eye. "Noel?" He shook her shoulder gently. "Noel, wake up, pet."

The little girl sat up and rubbed her eyes cutely.

"Mama? Papa home?" Her eyes widened as she processed her surroundings. "Where we?"

"I don't know, pet. I haven't looked around yet." He slipped out of the cool sheets and knelt down to look her in the eyes. "I want you to be a good girl and wait here while I go look around, alright?"

She nodded and hugged a pillow.

Arthur smiled a little and kissed her forehead.

"I won't be gone long."

Slipping out of the bedroom into the dark hallway, he made his way through the small apartment, looking into every room he passed. The apartment seemed to only have two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, a tiny dining room, and a long hallway that led to a locked door.

He reached the kitchen and stopped to try and think.

"Where in the world could we be? And why?" He put a hand on his chin. "I doubt this would be a diplomatic issue or a hostage situation. We were given far too much liberty and freedom for that to be the case."

The sound of a key turning in a lock reached his ears and he looked towards the door at the end of the hall in front of him.

A blond haired male stepped through the door and smiled brightly at him.

"Good morning, Artie! It's nice to see you're awake!"

The Englishman's eyes widened.

"Alfred...?"

* * *

AN: So America is involved in this story. What is he doing here?


	4. Chapter 4

_The sound of a key turning in a lock reached his ears and he looked towards the door at the end of the hall in front of him._

_A blond haired male stepped through the door and smiled brightly at him._

_"Good morning, Artie! It's nice to see you're awake!"_

_The Englishman's eyes widened._

_"Alfred...?"_

Walking forward, the young American entered the kitchen and set the plastic bags he was carrying down on the counter. "I brought you some food, just some dinners that you throw in the microwave so you don't even have to try and cook!" He laughed and pulled the freezer door open, starting to put them away. "Oh! And some juice boxes." As he finished putting the groceries away, he turned around and grinned at the other. "So did you sleep well? I can get you more pillows or blankets if you need them."

"Alfred, why are you here?"

The other laughed loudly.

"Because this is one of my apartments?"

"Why did you bring me here? Why did you take me from my home?"

"I had to." The usually excited boy's face had turned sour and a small shiver ran down Arthur's back from how cold the blue eyes were suddenly. "That...that _bastard_ wasn't treating you like you deserve! He was neglecting you and I know how much that was upsetting you!"

Arthur's eyes narrowed.

"Do _not_ call him anything like that," he said coldly. "And he was not neglecting me! He had to go away to strengthen his diplomatic relations with Angola! You have no idea how miserable he was while he was gone!"

"Is that what he told you? Do you have any proof?"

"Of course not! I trust him!"

Alfred leaned back and looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

"What if-"

"Mama?"

* * *

AN: What is up with Alfred? He's acting kinda weird...

But someone asked me to make the chapters longer and I thought about it and I could see where they were coming from. I felt bad but NO! MUHAHAHAHA! I like ending each chapter on a cliffhanger (so far) and I like keeping them short because it keeps the suspense going. Sorry sweetie, you'll thank me later~ (Maybe~)


	5. Chapter 5

The quiet call echoed down the long hallway and made the Englishman's blood freeze.

"Oh is my sweet little girl up already?" Alfred cooed and walked towards the bedroom.

Snapping back to himself, the other darted to the little girl and scooped her up to his chest.

"What are you talking about, Alfred? What did you call my daughter?"

The American laughed a little and shook his head.

"I called her 'my sweet little girl' of course! What else would I call her?"

"I don't know, something that doesn't make it sound like she's your child?"

Another burst of laughter erupted out of the younger man.

"Because she is? I know that you were told to hide her from me by the man you were forced to marry. I know that you don't love him and had no choice in the marriage."

The Englishman glared and clenched his hands into fists.

"What on earth are you talking about?! I love Francis! My marriage to him was not an economic one but a personal one! And Noel is not your daughter! She doesn't look a wink like you and there was never even a chance for you to be her father!"

Alfred smiled sadly and shook his head.

"Oh Arthur...how easily you can forget. It was the middle of the winter and you were at the bar, drinking like crazy after a fight with that bastard. I found you and things progressed from there." The older's face fell. He remembered the night Alfred was talking about; it had been his first married fight and he had wanted some space for the night. "And Artie, look at her eyes." He brushed his bangs out of his eyes and looked into Arthur's face. "They look just like mine." Arthur swallowed a lump in his throat. They did look remarkably similar. "And have you ever done her hair or has _He_ always done it? For all you know she has hair that's like mine but he curls it to match his." He leaned closer and whispered, "You can't admit that the thought doesn't shake you. Everything I'm saying is making you doubt so you can't say that you're positive she isn't." The Englishman had frozen again, eyes wide and shaken. "So until we'll just call her mine."

Reaching forward, Alfred pushed a stray look of hair behind the girl's ear.

"M-Mama?" she whimpered, not sure what was happening.

"Don't worry, sweetie. Your Mama is just trying to figure something out." He lifted the girl out of the motionless man's arms and smiled at her. "I'll just hold you for now."

"Who you?"

"I'm your Daddy."

* * *

AN: ...

*runs away to while the cliffhanger is still dawning on people*


	6. Chapter 6

Francis slammed his hand on the table in frustration leaving a large dent in the old wood. Neither he nor the police had found any sign of Arthur or Noel; the stress of their disappearance was grating on him and was getting worse with each passing day.

"Amigo, do not do that," Antonio said softly from beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You are just going to hurt yourself. I know that this is hard for you but injuring yourself will not help anything."

The blond fell into a chair, pulling on the ends of his hair in his distress and tears barely contained.

"That is easy for you to say. Votre enfant is not missing and votre amour is safe at home." He raised his head to look at a small green frog toy that was sitting on the dining table before picking it up and staring at it silently; suppressing the urge to throw it at the wall.

"What is that?" Antonio asked, looking at it too.

Francis sighed and put it back on the table.

"I bought it for Noel," he explained sadly. "It was going to be a present for her as a way to apologize for being gone so long. I also thought that Arthur would think it was funny since he called me a 'grenouille' when we were children."

The other man smiled a little.

"He did like to call you a frog and did so for a very long time."

"Oui. Until we got married it was a very common name and he still says it every now and then." He laughed a little before his face fell back into a worried frown as he looked up at the brown haired man. "I have to find them, Antonio…"

Antonio nodded.

"I know. And we will. We'll get them back from whoever took them."

The distressed man pulled on his hair again, trying harder to keep his tears in check as he stared at a picture of Arthur, Francis and Noel that had been taken shortly after she was born; both of them had such bright, proud smiles and were gazing at the little girl with awe.

"W-What…w-what if they were not taken? W-What…w-what if they left on their own because I was a bad mari and père…? I was gone for a month, Antonio! A whole month! Who knows that they did not get tired of moi and leave?"

Gasping, Antonio shook his head quickly, unable to believe that the other would even consider that thought.

"Don't say that, Francis. You know that Arturo would never do that to you. He loves you." The other didn't look convinced. "Look, there's a world meeting coming up. We'll see if he turns up to it. If he doesn't we can ask the other nations if they've heard anything about him and possibly organize a search party if need be, alright?"

Slowly nodding, he whispered, "Oui…"

* * *

AN: So...yeah. I'm moving soon and going back to school right after so hopefully that means more chapters since I do my best work when I need to be doing something else! :D

Did anyone like the frog toy? I've had that planned from the beginning but couldn't get it into the story until now unfortunately...but there it is! And poor Francis is so upset, thinking that he drove them away with having to work in away from home for a month. And by the way, France and Angola aren't on the best terms in real life so there! :P It's a relevant and a just cause to be away!


	7. Chapter 7

Arthur was sitting with Noel in his lap, trying to feed her some dinner. The task was much more difficult than usual since he was used to her being in a highchair which gave him more room to maneuver when she was being picky as was the case tonight.

"Noel, pet," he said as he put the spoon down and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "You need to eat. You haven't in days. You must be hungry."

The little girl frowned and shook her head.

"No! Want Papa!" she demanded. "No food! Want Papa!"

"I know, dear. I know. But I can't get him right now." Tears sparkled in her big blue eyes and Arthur wiped them away gently. "I miss him too. I really do."

Despite his efforts to calm her down, Noel started crying loudly. Quickly standing up, he rocked her gently but she didn't stop like she usually did. Trying to think over the noise, he bit his lip in frustration and hummed a song Francis often sang. It was from a stage show that had debuted in France and been very popular in the French speaking areas of Europe. Francis had seen it live and had invited Arthur to go with him but he hadn't been able to get the night off. The song was often sung by Francis when he was nervous and usually helped him relax and clear his mind.

When Noel heard it she went quiet, listening.

"P-Papa s-song," she hiccuped, recognizing it too.

Arthur nodded.

"Yes it is, love." He cleared his throat and started to sing to the girl. "Place je passe. Je suis roi de mes rêves, souverain des libertés. Osez, rendez grâce a ce fou qui se lève." Noel giggled a little and Arthur smiled, glad that she was happy even when things were looking grim. They had been locked in the small apartment again, Alfred having things to do. "Place je passe. Je suis roi de mes rêves, souverain de mes idées. Osez, rendez grâce au vilain épris de nobles pensées."

He kept singing the song until Noel started crying again. Confused, he held her close to rub her back. When her forehead touched his neck he pulled her away quickly. Her forehead had felt hot, very hot. After shifting her in his arms, he put his hand on her forehead. "Oh Noel, you have a fever! You need some medicine!" He carried her down the hall to the bathroom and looked for any sort of medicine that could break the fever. When he didn't find any he started fretting. "What am I supposed to do," he muttered to himself. "She really needs something to make her better." He walked to the front door and tried to open it but it was looked from the outside. All of the windows were either boarded up or bolted shut. "I will just have to wait for Alfred to get back."

Going to the little bedroom that had been designated as Noel's by Alfred, he laid her in the little bed and tucked her in tightly as she started shivering. "Sleep for now, pet. I will get you better as soon as I can." He kissed her forehead and walked out of the room.

* * *

AN: So in the beginning of the story Noel had a cold but now it's gotten worse, causing her to develop a fever.  
Oh and the song Arthur was singing is 'Place je passe' from Mozart, L'Opera Rock. It's an amaaazing show. I'm actually almost done with a cosplay from it. The translated lyrics are here: lyricstranslate /en/ place-je-passe-make-way-im-coming-through .html. Just take out the spaces.


	8. Chapter 8

When Alfred unlocked the door and stepped into the little apartment, Arthur was at his side in an instant. "Oh good! You're finally back! Noel is really sick and needs some-!"

"Aww, Artie!" the boy cried, hugging him. "I missed you too! And what a cute little housewife you are! Coming to meet your man at the door! So dutiful!" He smiled and kissed his cheek. "I hope you didn't wait for me to have dinner because I already ate and I want your full attention tonight!"

Pulling away and rubbing his cheek, Arthur tried to make him focus. "Alfred, listen to me! Noel is sick! She has a horrible fever and needs some medicine! Will you let me go out and get her some? She's been getting worse all night and can't wait any longer! If I don't go and get the right medicine now, she might die!"

The American's face darkened.

"Why do you want to leave me, Arthur?" he said in a voice that made the older shiver nervously. "I have given you a good home, good food, treated you with love and respect yet you want to leave me?" He advanced on the other, backing him into a wall. "I will not stand for you to act this way." Grabbing Arthur's wrist he dragged him down the hall. "I give you so much respect and you give me none. We are going to change that." He kicked open the door to the larger bedroom that Arthur slept in and shoved him inside. "I will teach you to be obedient and to do as a wife should. So far I have been lenient on your wifely duties, letting you get adjusted to your new life but I can no longer wait." Spotting Noel sleeping on the bed where she had been moved to by Arthur, he growled. He spun around to glare at the shorter man. "I gave this girl a room of her own so we could share this one! Why is she in here?!"

Nervous and tripping on his words, Arthur replied, "B-Because she's sick! I-I wanted her t-to stay w-with me s-so I could ch-check on h-her!"

Alfred glared.

"That is not good enough! Stay there!" The look he gave Arthur made him freeze, too scared to even think about moving. Going over to the closet, Alfred disappeared inside for a moment before coming back out with something in his pocket. He moved over to where Arthur was standing, grabbed his wrist and cuffed it to the bedpost. "Now you wait for me! I will be right back!" Grabbing Noel by the back of her nightdress, he carried her out of the room. He threw her onto the bed and came back, pushing Arthur onto the bed. "After this you will understand what you are supposed to do and you will act like the wife you are meant to!"

* * *

AN: So Alfred has snapped a little...and poor Noel is getting even worse! Not only due to her sickness but due to Alfred's treatment of her.


End file.
